Share This Page

I have a Roku 1. This little device works and all, though I'm not really impressed. First, it is very slow (no or very limited processor). Therefore every time I want to go on twitch or YouTube I need to go make a snack or do some chores cause of how slow it loads, and it is pretty ridiculous of load times. Also, there is no Ethernet jack. The controller is such a pain to use, it doesn't even click when you press a button. I end up using an app on my phone as the remote.

Now that the rant is done I need suggestions on a streaming device. I might lean onto Roku 3. I know some people may think it is weird that Im choosing the same brand box considering my disappointment to Roku 1. Though I did try Roku 2 at a friends house and I notice a huge improvement. Therefore I'm assuming Roku 3 would be better at least. Here are some other thoughts I have and asking your opinion on.

I hear some good things about the Nexus Player. I never used Android before. So Not sure about the interface and OS for the device and having to log in a Google account ect.

Apple TV I have tried as well. It is alright. Nothing special though I do have an iPhone currently therefore I may be able to sync things easily. (Thinking of upgrading my iPhone to better model or switch to android btw, but that is slightly off topic)

Nvidia Shield Android TV looks awesome! Though it seems overkill for me. I like the specs and the general use of it. Though I dont have a PC for gaming, and seems like the budget is a bit high. Plus I'm more of a Nintendo Gamer. Though I really think it is underrated and I hear you can plug in USB SNES controllers and play emulators ect.

WD TV. Not quite sure what to think. Would like someones opinion if they have it.

WiiU: Like mentioned. I'm a Nintendo gamer my whole life. I'm intressted in getting the Wii U. I haven't gamed in a while and it has been a while that Nintendo released the Wii U. Im a huge Smash Bros. fan as well as the Mario series. I also hear it can stream Netflix and Youtube (a good one-two punch for me). Therefore I may lean towards Wii U. Probably the most expensive one here, but I really am Nintendo gamer at heart and willing to shed the extra bucks for WiiU (despite the bad reviews of E3 2015, I dont mind. I see lots of good games out now).

Summery: Need a streaming device. I want best bang for your buck. No over expensive device but not a cheap one either like Roku 1.

What exactly can you do with a roku, is there a lot of free stuff to watch, just wondering since I don't subscribe to any streaming services. Will it stream movies from your PC, can you install or run kodi (xbmc)?

Anything that runs windows at an acceptable speed -- you can get higher end core2 machines with decent amounts for DDR3 RAM for the price of a couple of charting games right now, maybe buy a $20 graphics card if the one you get does not come with HDMI, buy a remote control and you are laughing. Many streaming services that cost on embedded devices come free on Windows, which also has all the various DRMed playback methods (think silverlight). This is on top if it supporting just about every network streaming method available and having the best playback methods. About the only thing that costs on Windows that did not somewhere was some kind of music service that came bundled with my dad's old TV.
Oh and all the games/emulators you might want.

Personally I find that overkill for what I want, mainly as I have a usenet connection and the ability to press right click and share over network, so I tend to go with a raspberry pi running XBMC/kodi, maybe dual booting with raspbian if I feel the need for a cut down but actually useable web browser.

Take a PC, set it up with Kodi and a bluetooth controller, and you'll have a HTPC that can handle PC gaming and stream anything a PC can. It might take some tinkering as some things you'll have to stream through a browser, which can be annoying to try to get it to work with a controller, but it's not bad.

Im going to assume you have a somewhat decent computer already, so I'd recommend hooking that up to your tv with an HDMI cable. It runs the best, has the most customization, and you'll never face any issues with compatibility.

What exactly can you do with a roku, is there a lot of free stuff to watch, just wondering since I don't subscribe to any streaming services. Will it stream movies from your PC, can you install or run kodi (xbmc)?

Click to expand...

Yeah man! Its more like channels. Check it out on Youtube. You can have a Youtube, Netflix channel, Twitch, A channel all about babes and cars. CNET is on there, crackle. And the list goes on, check it out online.

Take a PC, set it up with Kodi and a bluetooth controller, and you'll have a HTPC that can handle PC gaming and stream anything a PC can. It might take some tinkering as some things you'll have to stream through a browser, which can be annoying to try to get it to work with a controller, but it's not bad.

Click to expand...

I don't have a good PC. Which brings the question, and I mentioned this before in other thread. This is off topic. Though I would love to have a cheap budget PC just good enough to play Dolphin and Netplay for Super Smash Bros. Melee. I really dont play newer games like Witcher 3. So 4k HD and all latest GPU really doesnt matter for me. Can I make a or buy a PC for under $500 Canadian?

Depending on what you need, something like a Chromecast might work for you. All I use for it is Youtube and Netflix and it works perfectly for what I want.

Click to expand...

I have that. Though I have iPhone 4 with IOS 6. So I cant download the Chromast App. Youtube crashes everytime on IOS 6. Therefore I dont even bother anymore. Though I like your point. When I upgrade my phone I should be able to find more uses to the ChromeCast.

Im going to assume you have a somewhat decent computer already, so I'd recommend hooking that up to your tv with an HDMI cable. It runs the best, has the most customization, and you'll never face any issues with compatibility.

Click to expand...

That's the thing I don't unfortunately have that gaming Computer. Look at the reply I gave to @TecXero.

I don't have a good PC. Which brings the question, and I mentioned this before in other thread. This is off topic. Though I would love to have a cheap budget PC just good enough to play Dolphin and Netplay for Super Smash Bros. Melee. I really dont play newer games like Witcher 3. So 4k HD and all latest GPU really doesnt matter for me. Can I make a or buy a PC for under $500 Canadian?

Click to expand...

I'm not sure, here in the US you can get something workable for less than $500. Though, it sounds like some of that stuff, you could get by just by using a modded Wii.

Yeah man! Its more like channels. Check it out on Youtube. You can have a Youtube, Netflix channel, Twitch, A channel all about babes and cars. CNET is on there, crackle. And the list goes on, check it out online.

I don't have a good PC. Which brings the question, and I mentioned this before in other thread. This is off topic. Though I would love to have a cheap budget PC just good enough to play Dolphin and Netplay for Super Smash Bros. Melee. I really dont play newer games like Witcher 3. So 4k HD and all latest GPU really doesnt matter for me. Can I make a or buy a PC for under $500 Canadian?

I have that. Though I have iPhone 4 with IOS 6. So I cant download the Chromast App. Youtube crashes everytime on IOS 6. Therefore I dont even bother anymore. Though I like your point. When I upgrade my phone I should be able to find more uses to the ChromeCast.

Anything that runs windows at an acceptable speed -- you can get higher end core2 machines with decent amounts for DDR3 RAM for the price of a couple of charting games right now, maybe buy a $20 graphics card if the one you get does not come with HDMI, buy a remote control and you are laughing. Many streaming services that cost on embedded devices come free on Windows, which also has all the various DRMed playback methods (think silverlight). This is on top if it supporting just about every network streaming method available and having the best playback methods. About the only thing that costs on Windows that did not somewhere was some kind of music service that came bundled with my dad's old TV.
Oh and all the games/emulators you might want.

Personally I find that overkill for what I want, mainly as I have a usenet connection and the ability to press right click and share over network, so I tend to go with a raspberry pi running XBMC/kodi, maybe dual booting with raspbian if I feel the need for a cut down but actually useable web browser.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply. Thing is. Im more of a couch surfer and only like to keep my PC for strictly gaming/buisness/Social. It may not make sense. I only have a laptop right now and it overheats a lot. I even bought a Coolmaster fan to cool it down. Therefore I don't like to keep things running when I don't have to. I will look into this once I get a Desktop for sure.

I'm not sure, here in the US you can get something workable for less than $500. Though, it sounds like some of that stuff, you could get by just by using a modded Wii.

Click to expand...

I have a softmodded Wii. But you cant play anthers ladder on Wii (Melee online basically). I have Project M, though the online is horrible on the Wii. It lags so much. I even have the Lan adapter. It could be the Project M server as well. Though I hear anthers ladder is the way to go (On PC dolphin emulator).

I have a softmodded Wii. But you cant play anthers ladder on Wii (Melee online basically). I have Project M, though the online is horrible on the Wii. It lags so much. I even have the Lan adapter. It could be the Project M server as well. Though I hear anthers ladder is the way to go (On PC dolphin emulator).

I don't have a good PC. Which brings the question, and I mentioned this before in other thread. This is off topic. Though I would love to have a cheap budget PC just good enough to play Dolphin and Netplay for Super Smash Bros. Melee. I really dont play newer games like Witcher 3. So 4k HD and all latest GPU really doesnt matter for me. Can I make a or buy a PC for under $500 Canadian?

That's the thing I don't unfortunately have that gaming Computer. Look at the reply I gave to @TecXero.

Click to expand...

You don't need a powerful PC for streaming, just something that isn't a 10 year old comp or something like that. That said, you can indeed build a computer capable of doing that for that price. I know that you can build a PC for that price. It wont be top of the line or anything, but if you just bought the basics you could invest something capable of running dolphin. Just focus your spending on the cpu and you should be fine. At that price you wont be able to afford a dedicated gpu, but dolphin really doesnt need it. It shouldnt have any issues with streaming at all if you spend your money well.